Eating out is always an expensive let down.

Totally agree, we eat out alot, few complaints

We like a local pub/Restaurant in a pretty town a short drive away.They do Burgers on Wednesdays for a tenner and really nice chips .Prices everywhere have increased hugely .Portions are OK I find generally .Harvester takes some beating as well .

Had the best macaroni cheese I have ever tasted at a spoons.

Perhaps I've been lucky but I can only think of a handful of occasions where the food/cost ratio has been disappointing when eating out?
I consider myself a pretty good cook who isn't afraid to try new things ( FiL even told MiL my roast potatoes were better than hers!!! )
The range of eating establishments in the UK is vastly superior to some countries that have a reputation for great cooking as we seem to have embraced so many other cultures.
I currently work for a small chain of Italian restaurants that specialise in a small plate style menu, I'm sure some of you can work out who.
What surprised me was how much is actually cooked in house and with expensive ingredients.
And to say all chain places don't care about the quality is wide of the mark as the owners are constantly doing spot checks & unannounced visits.
Having worked in the food industry most of my life I'm a fussy sod but with all that am rarely forced to complain.
The thing I find the most variable the world over is service.

@cardibach - we do like eating out too but rarely do because it’s often disappointing. I don’t mind paying good money for a meal but it should be worth it. When we go to somewhere like Nandos it’s not for an eating experience, it’s for decent tasting food/fuel at a fair price.

If we want an eating experience we find that instead of paying over the top for ordinary fare we’re better off taking a chance and paying a bit more for a Michelin star restaurant in the hope that we’ll get something nicer than what we can cook.

I must have a very big appetite - the only tasting menu that I’ve not come away hungry from is Tommy Banks’ Black Swan. Which is just as well as we stayed at their inn with not a fast food place in sight!!!

That sounds - well not even awful, just the sort of boring thing you eat if you're really broke or on a strict diet (or both). Actually I think my favourite place to eat when it's cold is Morrison's cafe, cheap and cheerful with lovely staff. When it's warm a sandwich or pasty on a bench by the river (any river, we have plenty here).

If you’re going to pay £10 for hummus and pitta why don’t you just put the heating on with that £10 instead? Or am I missing something really obvious?

Toby Carvery offers very good value especially they often have discounted offers.

We are not well off by any means but if we do eat out for what you might class as a fancy meal, if we can’t cook it as well at home then it’s worth a go!!

It is very expensive now, I just try and find vouchers where I can

I'm a fan of Miller & Carter and loved when they had the summer promotion on of a steak meal with cocktail for £19.95. Usually go the the Fredrick Street restaurant in Edinburgh but also use the one in Aberdeen on Union Street when I go to visit eldest DS &DIL.

I can still eat in Chinatown in London for a tenner which is amazing value and good food.

It depends, I don’t think you can tar every place with the same brush. For example, we stopped eating at our local because they upped the prices considerably, reduced the portions noticeably and the service got worse over time. Clearly, other people think the same as they now have offer after offer on eg buy one get one free on Monday, a third off on Thursday, any burger for a tenner on another day.

On the other hand, whilst it’s expensive, I’ve never had a bad meal at Miller and Carter. We’re going there next week actually and can’t wait 😋 Our local Indian is absolutely amazing and nothing is too much trouble.

@Maggiethecat I enjoy flavourful and varied meals at home too, but I still like eating out. I’ve been to Nando’s twice. Unimpressed both times. Very dull - I’d genuinely prefer to stay home and cook. But a small restaurant with a chef making even simple things with skill and care? Lovely.
I’ve also never been hungry after a tasting menu.

We enjoy flavourful and varied meals at home so we rarely dine out. If we do it’s to somewhere like Nandos or a restaurant that we know and like. Occasionally we’ll try a new one but often end up disappointed.
Dh is a foodie and we’ve done tasting menus which after experiencing exquisite taste and visual offerings we’ve ended up getting a chain restaurant takeaway on the way home 😂

There is a great cafe in my town that does a full and extensive English menu plus has a smaller Chinese menu. I have become friends with the owner as I eat there once a week and my family were originally from HK as is she. A small English breakfast is £4. Then they have spicy brisket of beef with rice or teriyaki salmon and noodles for £9. They also have home made pie with chips and peas for £8.

The other good places are church coffee mornings, I’m off to one for breakfast today with my DH. I also cook at this church sometimes. A bacon roll with a coffee will be £3.

There is a decent carvery by me it is £10 for a small carvery and £13 for a large one. My other favourite is a small heritage centres cafe a couple of miles away they do the most fab baked potatoes and home made cakes. They grow their own salad as much as they can. Volunteers in their kitchen garden get a discount in the cafe, if I had time I would be volunteering there for the discount. I do live in the North of the country. My family still live down South and I am aghast at the prices to eat out as seems much more expensive.

I eat out often, at least once a week if not twice.
Lunch times I tend to stick with set lunch time menus which a few places offer in Edinburgh & Glasgow.
1 of my go to places in Edinburgh is The Jolly, 3 course lunch menu for £9.70.
Evening dinner is always a lot more expensive but you get the odd restaurant doing pre-theatre menus which can be good value.
Have even had this down in London pre-theatre 2 course menu from as little as £17.99.
If I want to splash out then 6 course tasting menu at Six by Nico for £60 or 2 course dinner menu at Miller & Carter for £34.95.
I also have lots of apps for various places and make use of any offers I get such as Harvester which can offer you up to 50% of your food bill.

Ooh! Would you mind sharing which places? I was in Melbourne two weeks ago and was very disappointed with where we went (less than ordinary experience in Degraves street) and ought to be there again around July. Decades ago when I was a penniless backpacker I recall a wonderful Hare Krishna vegetarian place- Gopal's (?). Is that still there do you know?

A good answer to a patronising post!

A nice beans on toast in our local cafe £3.50, can't really complain.

Obvs cheaper at home but when your 2yr old is screaming bc it's cold out seems a small price to pay.

Eating out has always disappointed me. So expensive and I can do better at home. Even very expensive chef places are style over substance and overrated. Italian food..cheap ingredients, shocking prices. Steak? Much better done at home. Possibly the only one is curries but I’ve even cracked a few good ones at home. And then there’s wine with the food..apart from driving, the cost of a drink is extortionate. All but given up unless it’s a special event someone has organised.

I ordered a vegetarian cheese burger once. It turned out to be a slice of raw white cheese- might have been halloumi - in an untoasted white bread roll (not even sourdough) with a lettuce leaf and a slice of tomato. So, basically, a cheese roll. For £15.

I'm in Melbourne and if I eat out in the CBD I've narrowed it down to a couple of very good if pricey restaurants who make things I don't make for myself and are utterly reliable. Never have a pudding.

For brunch, usually closer to home, we're coming down with cafes where I live, who offer much the same wherever you go so I rate them on noise, service and toilets.

These outings would be every few months.